CVE•Published 2022-04-19•Modified 2026-04-08•1 article on news•6 live references•NVD data

CVE-2022-0992Siteground · Security_optimizer

Vulnerability data via NVD (ingested)

CVSS v3.1

9.8

CRITICAL

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS percentile

Exploit Prediction Scoring System · top 11% of all CVEs

Weaknesses (CWE)

CWE-288Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel CWE-306Missing Authentication for Critical Function

Description

The SiteGround Security plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass that allows unauthenticated users to log in as administrative users due to missing identity verification on initial 2FA set-up that allows unauthenticated and unauthorized users to configure 2FA for pending accounts. Upon successful configuration, the attacker is logged in as that user without access to a username/password pair which is the expected first form of authentication. This affects versions up to, and including, 1.2.5.

Timeline

Published 2022-04-19

Modified 2026-04-08

External references

NVD MITRE Exploit-DB GitHub PoC trickest/cve VulnCheck

Search for exposed instances

Shodan + Censys queries derived from NVD's CPE data. The vuln tag catches assets Shodan has explicitly linked to this CVE; the product / banner fingerprints find exposed instances even when the vuln tag was never applied (which is common).

Shodan · vuln tag0 hosts

vuln:CVE-2022-0992

Hosts Shodan has explicitly fingerprinted as vulnerable.

Shodan · WP plugin path

http.html:"/wp-content/plugins/security-optimizer/"

Matches any site loading the "security-optimizer" plugin — doesn't rely on Shodan's vuln tag.

Shodan · product

product:"Siteground Security Optimizer"

All exposed Siteground Security Optimizer instances — cross-reference with the CVE's affected-version range.

Shodan · banner/body mention

http.html:"Security Optimizer"

HTTP body or banner mentions "Security Optimizer" — catches deploys Shodan didn't identify as a product.